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The return of Editions Disco! These limited 12"s are always chock full of the rarest gems, and that's why they get spun by everyone from Gilles Peterson to James Murphy, Carl Craig to Lindstrom, yadda yadda. This time around, Lee Douglas (who...
expand review you might know from his dope single on Rong) chops up an obscure Belle Epoque track on "Bamalama(1)." If you liked the Rong single, you'll go for this - it's thick with that old school Italo vibe and tons of arpeggiated synths. The A-side has "Yo Son(2)," a Prince Language edit of an 80s track so obscure that we don't even know the artist or title! This is Language's own secret crate shit, and it's described as "Remain In Light-era Talking Heads backing an Arabic R&B group." Sign me up! Plays at 45. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 12
Roy Dank's (a former Lab writer and mind behind the Pop Your Funk parties) Wurst Edits series has quickly established itself as the premiere stateside re-edit series (cool sleeves and logo helps). For the third installment, Dank has enlisted Rong's heavy hitter...
expand review Lee Douglas for a pair of obscure but ultimately playable edits. The lean and mean "Do Right(1)" is in the disco-funk vein with strongman vocals, nimble bass play, and a driving disco drums. Ungh! On the flip "Breakwind(2)" is quite a discovery and definitely playlist material. This punk funk sounding track is ridiculously hard with a rock solid rhythm section, airplane sound effects, and even a crowd noise breakdown for getting the crowd in a tizzy. Breakwind! -the mgmnt
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Mr. Kevorkian is still traveling into deep space, approaching his mid-fifties! Francois has inhabited a place where all record trends seem to be leading: the intersection of cosmic, dub, house, and techno sounds. "Road Of Life(1)" is a prime example of the...
expand review style, pitting rigid techno drums with more fluid "space" synths. Remixers Quiet Village (aka Joel Martin and Radio Slave), coming off an excellent Mudd remix on Rong, drop an even better version with a relentless (and perfectly EQ'ed) 4/4, and a slowly developing synth line that will have the crowd going mental (in the good way). This is one of those tracks that seems to have a brain of its own, let it work for you. -the mgmnt
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Free Blood sports an impressive resume for an unknown Brooklyn band. This year alone, they've opened up for Hot Chip's latest tour and released this single simultaneously on Rong and DFA. With the male-female chemistry, they remind me a bit of The...
expand review Kills but with more of the dance-y DFA vibe. There's two original tracks(1,2) here plus a dark disco remix(3) by Rong's Barfly. -the mgmnt
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The latest from these on-the-rise Brooklynites comes once again from both Rong AND DFA at the same time (talk about a good label deal), so if you haven't heard about these guys ilsten up. "Royal Family(1)" is a prime slice of modern...
expand review dance rock goodness that pushes the boundaries and blurs the edges. Slightly dark, but definitely danceable and with a quirky, artsy vibe. "Grumpy(2)" ups the BPMs to a speedy electro tempo adding funky bass and energetic vocals in the mix for a hip dance bomb... I can see both of these being played at bars in Williamsburg for the rest of the summer and then some! Of course you get the remix action - one from Brothers(3) who turn in a chuggin' electro version of "Royal Family" and one from UK DJ legend Greg Wilson(4) who does a dubbed out disco take on "Grumpy." -suicide bangs
quick audio picks: 123
Brooklyn's Lee Douglas is probably best known for his amazing new disco productions and remixes (ahem, on Rong and DFA) more than he is for his edits, but that doesn't mean he can't cut it up with the best of 'em. Here...
expand review he is representing on the second installment of Lovefingers' Black Disco series with that straight disco fire that's an excellent edition to your crate. Setting of the A-side at 45RPM's is the sensual disco sounds of "Cum N' Go(1)" complete with hot Spanish guitars and plenty of sexy "oohs" and "aahs" to get a steamy mood set. Play this one out till the break and be rewarded by a hype spaced-out breakdown. Flip the record (and don't forget to change speed to 33 1/3) and check the straight ahead disco boogie sounds of "Hide N' Seek(2)." Feeling the grown and sexy mood on this one. "Fuego (3)" seals the deal on a crazy cosmic foot-stompin' tip. Epic! -snackmaster
quick audio picks: 123
Rong is back, remixing the 1989 Nu Groove classic "The True Story of House Music." First up, "The New Age of Faith(1)" is a slow burner, with an almost soundtrack quality to it. Mellow, yet deep, we are thrown into a dreamland...
expand review journey here - a great track for warming up the floors with. Next up, "The New Age Of Faith (Act 1 The Sea: Birth, Act 2 The Land: Life, Act 3 The Stars Faith In Heaven)(2)" really sounds like a play- with no beats, and different elements of the track appearing and disappearing. Last up, "Music (I’m So Alone) (3)" is a classic early 90's sounding house joint, with an old school male vocal layed on top of old school beats, and a dark bassline. Gotta love the "feeed meeee bass" sample, as well as the SUPER old school keys in there. Rong does it again! -Alison Tara
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This record has a gang of chunky tripped out beats that will appeal to almost everyone who takes a listen. There's tuff breaks, smooth downtempo, dirty disco, and house beats. These sound like track ideas that just never got finished, so they...
expand review pressed 'em as is. Doubles are probably needed to extend some of these cuts out a little, or get your quick mix on and do something creative. Side A starts with "Bunker Beat(1)," an uptempo broken beat jam with a dirty bass line and some reversed vocal samples. "Orange" is pumpin house beat that would sound progressive if it weren't for the thick ass beat and old school hand claps. "Mike's Monkey(2)" is an insane combo of b-boy breaks, brazilian cuica noises, and weird digital feedback. With a ton of clever beat drops and stops, the track keeps getting stranger and stranger but never loses its funky edge. The B-side takes a more downtempo approach with two really nice warm beats. "Tregay(3)" is a dubbed-out beat sounding kinda like Zeb without the middle eastern influence. "Slow and Low(4)" is probably the only full song on here, clocking in at six and a half minutes, and it's a keeper. Buttery downtempo with lots of dubby keys and chords, strange atmospheric samples, and a head-nodding beat. The final cut is called "Interlude" and could be used for just that, breaking up your set with a quirky chopped beat with tons of reverb on a percussive tabla loop. This is a cool record which any creative DJ should find some use for. And this most likely this won't be available for easy download, so all you Serato geeks who think they can mix without cue points and on-screen tempo displays may actually have to carry these on vinyl. Aww poor things... -SABO
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Heavyweight double 12" pack featuring two big remixes of "Cutout" off Shocking Pinks' DFA debut, plus three new mixes of the non-album "Dressed To Please." Ex-Tussle member Alexis Georgopoulos and compadre Quinn Luke flesh out the drum-centric aspect of "Cutout" on their...
expand review Expanding Head Band remix(1), then Lee Douglas(2) flips the script completely on his beautiful and hypnotic slow tribal remix (hands down my pick of the bunch here). The second 12" features three deep, dubby instrumental mixes of "Dressed To Please," the most substantial being the Deepchord remix(3), followed by the sidelong Echospace reduction(4) and Nathan Fake remix(5). "Cutout" mixes play at 45, "Dressed" at 33. -Chris Lemon-Red
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Since when is two tracks an EP? Well, I guess when you have Rong Music's new disco MVP Woolfy hittin the remix, you can call it what you want. The Voices are cool and although they only have two tracks on here,...
expand review they're a great example of detailed grooves. "Cavern(1)" rides on a "disco not disco" vibe not often heard these days while "Spooky(2)" funks on a slow burning cosmic jam sure to send you on a psychedelic space trip. The real meal though is "Woolfy's Neu Rave Disco Mix" of Spooky(3)" that still keeps the spaced out psychedelic synths in there, but ups the tempo to raise the dancefloor energy. Although, I already predict most will sleep on this, trust me, it's quality. -C'mish
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